InuYasha Fan Fiction ❯ The Truth About Cats and Dogs ❯ Naraku's Return ( Chapter 26 )

Recap: Inuyasha tried to use catnip to stop Kirara from confronting Sesshomaru, but his plan failed. Inuyasha discovered that Sesshomaru had gained strength with his regenerated arm, Kagura made a deal with Sesshomaru, Kirara realised that she had feelings for Sesshomaru, and Kagura used Kohaku to blackmail Kirara.

 

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Chapter 26 - Naraku's Return

 

Kirara groaned, trying her hardest to push herself up from the floor; but it was too much. The air around her was thick, sickly and barely breathable. Looking across the room, she was amazed to see Kohaku sitting up against the wall as though nothing was wrong. In that instance, Kirara fully appreciated the power contained within the sacred jewel. Kohaku, a mere mortal, was able to withstand the poisonous miasma of Naraku's castle because of the power of the jewel shard embedded in his back.

 

“K-Kohaku?” she said weakly.

 

Kohaku, who was sitting with his head turned towards the thin sliding doors at his side, shifted his eyes to Kirara at the sound of her voice. Kirara uttered a small groan of concern as she saw that Kohaku's soft brown eyes had lost their usual sparkle, looking dull and lifeless as they always did when he was fully under Naraku's control.

 

Deciding that it was in her best interests to leave Kohaku alone - in that state, he was more than likely to attack her, and she was too weak to defend herself - Kirara instead tried to focus on what had happened and how she had gotten to where she now found herself. Thanks to the catnip, the last couple of days were not very clear in her memory, but she was positive that her friends had not yet found any traces of Naraku or the Shikon Jewel, meaning that, unless she could somehow figure out a way to escape, she was trapped in Naraku's castle without any hope of being rescued until Naraku himself decided to make himself known to his enemies.

 

Concentrating all her efforts on recalling recent events, Kirara managed to remember leaving the campsite to go to the river, where Kagura had confronted her with Kohaku. Kagura had said something about Naraku wishing to make a deal with Kirara in exchange for Kohaku's freedom, and Kirara had agreed to it, allowing Kagura to take both her and Kohaku away on her feather. Kirara could not remember which direction they had left from, but she could remember flying over a forest, a swamp, a long valley, and then up a mountain. About halfway up the side of the mountain, they had penetrated a magenta-coloured barrier, and after that, Kirara's memories were blank.

 

The overwhelming, noxious gases of Naraku's poisonous miasma were too much for most, but for weaker feline, and more especially weaker canine, demons, with stronger senses than mere mortals and without the strength of a powerful demon, the miasma was enough to render them nothing short of useless. Unless her friends had seen her leave, Kirara knew that she had no hope of them finding her. And, she thought darkly to herself, if they had seen her leave, what would they think of her? To someone watching on, Kirara had willingly climbed onto Kagura's feather and flown off with her to Naraku's castle. Given Inuyasha's distinct lack of trust in anyone bar himself and possibly Kagome, Kirara knew that her half-demon friend would instantly assume the worst, and accuse her of joining forces with Naraku. And, as the quickest of the group, and the one with the keenest senses, Inuyasha was the most likely of all to have seen her depart; he had already been awake when she had left their camp.

 

Kirara groaned, closing her eyes and pressing her face against the floor in despair. She began to consider allowing herself to fall asleep again, if only in the hope that she might regain some of her power if she rested; but a sudden evil presence by her side sent a rush of adrenaline coursing through her body that gave her enough strength to push herself up onto her hands and knees.

 

“Kirara,” a deep, smooth voice said.

 

Kirara turned to the source of the voice, frowning in question when she saw nothing more than the semi-transparent sliding doors by her side, which were still firmly closed. But as she watched, a light illuminated the other side of the doors, and through the panels Kirara could see the slightly blurred image of a man sitting facing her wearing a baboon pelt.

 

“Naraku,” she said, shaking her head slightly in disbelief.

 

Was it the real Naraku, or was it just another demon puppet, she wondered?

 

“Kirara, first let me congratulate you on your undying devotion to this boy,” Naraku continued, the smoothness of his velvety voice sending a small shiver of dread down Kirara's spine. “I'm so impressed with your courage Kirara, I have decided to set you both free.”

 

“What?” Kirara echoed.

 

Naraku chuckled softly, the shoulders of his fur cloak shuddering slightly from his efforts.

 

“It's simple,” he continued. “You will take this.”

 

Even though the sliding doors were still closed between them, Kirara could make out the pearly-mauve glow of a jewel shard. Naraku held it up between his thumb and forefinger, lifting his head slightly to expose his glowing crimson eyes, which he promptly fixed onto Kirara.

 

“You will use this shard to give yourself the strength you need to leave here,” Naraku said.

 

Kirara narrowed her eyes, glancing between the jewel shard and Naraku's eyes, which glowed almost as brightly as the Shikon Jewel at her from beneath the shadows of his cape.

 

“In return for your freedom, I ask for just one small thing,” Naraku said slowly. “You will use the strength this jewel shard gives you to kill Inuyasha.”

 

Kirara gasped.

 

“Never!” she growled.

 

“You refuse to comply?” Naraku asked. “Then you leave me no choice but to kill the boy.”

 

Kirara gasped again, turning her head to watch as Kohaku, still trapped under Naraku's control, lifted his sickle and turned it towards himself.

 

“No!” Kirara wailed, reaching a shaking hand weakly towards him.

 

“No?” Naraku asked. “Quite the indecisive one, aren't we, Kirara?”

 

“You bastard!” Kirara snarled, rounding on Naraku.

 

“You had better make up your mind Kirara,” Naraku replied, ignoring her insult. “You don't have very long. Either you kill Inuyasha with your own hands, or you will watch the human you swore to protect kill himself.”

 

“You sick, twisted, evil… How could you?”

 

“Time, Kirara, is running out.”

 

Kirara paused, Naraku's reference to time suddenly having an impact on her.

 

“Wh-what do you mean?” she asked nervously.

 

“Kanna?” Naraku said.

 

Kirara turned with a start to find Naraku's small, white-haired incarnation suddenly standing at his side.

 

“Show Kirara what she missed while she slept today,” Naraku purred, his teeth flashing from the shadow of his cape as a malicious smirk graced his features.

 

Kirara turned to look into the mirror in Kanna's hands, tilting her head in confusion as she saw Kagura standing speaking to Sesshomaru, with Ah-Un, Jaken and Rin in the background. Kirara's confusion deepened as she saw Kagura point at Sesshomaru's swords with her fan, at which he bared his teeth. They continued talking for a moment longer before Sesshomaru suddenly leapt off, leaving his companions behind with Kagura, who watched him leave, grinning widely.

 

“I-I don't understand…” Kirara said slowly, turning to Naraku for an explanation.

 

“Well you see Kirara, I did not expect this resistance from you,” Naraku began. “I expected you to take this jewel shard and save your human friend.”

 

“And you expected me to kill Inuyasha,” Kirara added bitterly. “But I don't understand how any of that involves Lord Sesshomaru.”

 

“Oh dear, the rumours are true then,” Naraku said, a hint of sarcasm leaking into his voice. “You really are nothing more than a pitiful fool, Kirara. How disappointing. Mind games are no fun when one's opponent is nothing more than an idiot.”

 

Kirara froze, racking her brains for some sort of clue as to what Naraku was planning, but alas she could find none. She had no idea how the mind of pure evil worked; she had dedicated her life to fighting evil, not understanding it.

 

“I told Kagura that you would soon be enjoying the extra power of one of the jewel shards,” Naraku slowly continued. “And she mentioned something about you wishing to become stronger because of Lord Sesshomaru.”

 

Kirara paled and her blood chilled in her veins. Had Kagura told Sesshomaru that Kirara had made a pact with Naraku in order to gain his respect with the strength she would gain from being in possession of a jewel shard?

 

“And now it seems that Lord Sesshomaru is under the impression that you seek to use your strength to kill him, steal his swords, and give them, and your jewel shard, to Inuyasha.”

 

“What?”

 

Kirara almost choked on her shock and had to fight to breathe normally against both her increased heartbeat and the noxious fumes around her. The truth of her predicament was even worse than she had feared.

 

“Lord Sesshomaru is on his way here to kill you, Kirara,” Naraku added, once more grinning at Kirara's horrified expression. “He will be here very soon, so you don't have very long to decide what you are going to do next. I suggest you take the jewel shard. If you don't, not only will you be forced to watch Kohaku kill himself, but you will then face your own death at the hands of Lord Sesshomaru. Take the jewel shard, escape from this place before Lord Sesshomaru gets here, kill Inuyasha and then return both your own shard and the one in Kohaku's back to me. You will live, the boy will live, and I will take care of Lord Sesshomaru for you.”

 

Kirara slowly shook her head.

 

“No?” Naraku asked. “You don't want the jewel shard? Are you sure? You are willing then to let Kohaku die and to face the wrath of Lord Sesshomaru? He's very disappointed in you, Kirara. He hates that you have made a deal with me.”

 

Naraku motioned towards Kanna's mirror with one hand, and Kirara moved her eyes towards it, gasping at the image she saw reflected there. Although she could not remember the exact location of Naraku's castle, she could quite clearly see that Sesshomaru was running through the valley that she had passed over the night before, his eyes blazing red in his fury.

 

“He will be here very soon, Kirara,” Naraku said, standing up. “I will be letting down my barrier completely when he arrives to let him pass. Once he is inside, it will be too late. Let me make things a little easier for you, Kirara.”

 

Naraku grabbed the door, sliding it back. Kirara growled at him, cursing herself for being too weak to so much as stand in his presence.

 

“The choice is yours, Kirara,” he said, tossing the jewel shard at her. “Make it wisely.”

 

The door slammed shut and the room beyond it fell into darkness once more. Kirara slowly looked down at the jewel shard by her feet, then across the room at Kohaku, who was still holding his sickle above his own heart.

 

“I don't have any other choice…” she whispered, picking up the jewel shard between her claws.

 

Kirara slowly lifted the shard up, watching it shake before her face, her hand unable to hold it steady as she considered the full implications of what she was about to do.

 

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“Kirara!” Sango called.

 

“Kirara!” Kagome yelled.

 

“Sango, Kagome, this way!” Miroku called back to them.

 

“What is it Miroku?” Sango asked, running towards him. “Have you found her?”

 

“Not exactly,” Inuyasha replied as the other joined him by the banks of the river. “Look at this.”

 

Sango gasped, covering her mouth with one hand.

 

“Kirara's sword!” Kagome said, frowning at the sight of the sheathed sword lying across Inuyasha's upturned hands. “But why would she leave it behind? Surely she's not still ill from the catnip?”

 

“No,” Inuyasha said darkly. “I can smell Naraku around here.”

 

“Naraku?” Sango echoed.

 

“Yeah,” Inuyasha quietly replied. “Unfortunately, the scent starts over there,” Inuyasha pointed to the edge of the trees. “And it ends here, by the water's edge.”

 

“Do you think Naraku kidnapped Kirara?” Miroku asked.

 

“I don't know,” Inuyasha replied. “But whatever happened, they must have flown off for the scent to disappear like that. I'm not even sure if it is Naraku. It smells more like Kagura.”

 

“Kagura?” Kagome echoed. “Well that would make sense, she flies on that feather she has. Do you think she might have kidnapped Kirara?”

 

“But why?” Miroku asked.

 

“We have to go after her,” Sango said urgently. “Kagura has Kohaku with her too!”

 

Miroku put a reassuring arm around Sango's shoulders as tears began to form in her eyes.

 

“But how can we even begin to follow them without any trace of which direction they went?” Inuyasha asked.

 

Kagome gasped, causing the others to turn to her.

 

“I can sense some jewel shards!” she said.

 

“Are you sure, Kagome?” Sango asked.

 

“Yes, definitely!” Kagome said.

 

Inuyasha sniffed at the air, his face darkening.

 

“And I can smell wolf,” he groaned.

 

A second later a whirlwind swept up to them, dissolving to reveal Koga.

 

“What are you standing around here for, you mangy mutt!” Koga said, eying Inuyasha over in disgust.

 

Inuyasha opened his mouth to reply, but a second whirlwind swept past him, cutting him off. As the wind died down, Ayame appeared at Koga's side, smiling up at him.

 

“Oh!” she said, her smile fading as she looked around the others. “Where is Kirara?”

 

“We think she may have been kidnapped by Kagura,” Miroku explained.

 

“So then why are you still standing around here?” Koga asked again. “Come on, we can't get through Naraku's barrier without you dog-boy, so come on!”

 

“Naraku's barrier?” Inuyasha repeated.

 

“Can't you smell it?” Koga snapped.

 

“Um…” Inuyasha began nervously.

 

“Inuyasha's senses have weakened, tonight is the night of the new moon,” Miroku pointed out.

 

“Damn it!” Inuyasha muttered.

 

“Then we have to hurry!” Kagome said. “Inuyasha can't use the Tetsusaiga when he's human! He won't be able to break Naraku's barrier!”

 

“Inuyasha, you go ahead with Koga and Ayame,” Miroku said. “You can move faster if you don't wait for us. We will follow as fast as we can, we might manage to find Hachi and catch up with you, but until then, you must hurry.”

 

“Right,” Inuyasha said, nodding his head.

 

Inuyasha passed Kirara's sword to Sango, who looked down at it, her face twisting through a series of muddled emotions.

 

“She'll be fine,” Miroku assured her, touching a hand to her shoulder. “Don't worry, Sango.”

 

“Let's go,” Inuyasha said, running off.

 

Koga and Ayame took off after him, all three running straight past Ginta, Hakkaku and the wolves, who had only just caught up.

 

“Hi Kagome!” Ginta called.

 

“Bye Kagome!” Hakkaku called.

 

“Hey Koga, wait up!” Ginta yelled.

 

Kagome watched the wolf demons and their wolves hurry off after the others, before turning back to Sango and Miroku.

 

“Come on, we should get going,” she said gently. “I'll go tell the kids to stay here, where it's safe.”

 

Miroku nodded, hugging Sango a little tighter.

 

“Don't worry Sango,” he whispered into her hair. “This time Naraku won't get away, and he won't hurt anyone else.”

 

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“Kohaku, no!” Kirara wailed, grabbing onto his sickle and pushing it back.

 

Kirara was certain that Naraku was nearby somewhere, watching the whole scene in amusement. Kirara could not even remember how, but she had somehow managed to escape from the building Naraku had been holding her and Kohaku in; but no sooner had she reached the courtyard outside than Kohaku had begun trying to kill himself again. She had spent what felt like hours trying to stop him, and although he had not caused himself any harm yet, he would not stop trying.

 

Deep down inside, Kirara knew that she was fighting a losing battle. Kohaku was already dead. As soon as the jewel shard was removed from his back, he would die. By stopping him from killing himself, she was, in a way, only delaying the inevitable; but Sango believed that Kohaku could be saved, and for that reason alone if nothing else, Kirara knew that she had to keep trying.

 

“Please, Kohaku!” she begged.

 

To Kirara's utter amazement, Kohaku relaxed, almost releasing his sickle altogether. Kirara frowned at him in confusion, but found that his eyes were looking at something over her shoulder. Turning around, Kirara mewed in alarm at what she saw.

 

Standing halfway across the courtyard was Sesshomaru, his eyes red, the Tokijin hanging from his right hand.

 

Kirara stiffened, glancing at Kohaku, who stood perfectly still at her side. It almost seemed as though Kohaku had accepted that he no longer needed to try to kill himself, because Sesshomaru would soon take his life anyway.

 

“Step aside,” Sesshomaru said, his voice a little gruffer than usual.

 

“No,” Kirara said. “Please, you can't hurt Kohaku!”

 

Kirara started to slowly walk towards Sesshomaru, hoping to distract him from Kohaku.

 

“You're in my way,” Sesshomaru said plainly, tightening his fist around the hilt of his Tokijin.

 

Kirara opened her mouth to try once more to reason with Sesshomaru, but all that came out was a sharp, grunting sigh of air as she felt Kohaku's sickle thud into her left shoulder. Kirara slowly turned her head to look at the weapon embedded in her skin, Kohaku's shot having successfully hit the area of bare skin between the armour on her shoulders and the armour around her torso. Kirara moved her eyes back to Sesshomaru, holding his gaze for a second before screaming out in pain and shock as Kohaku yanked at the chain of his sickle, tugging her shoulder back.

 

Kirara staggered backwards until the sickle dislodged itself from her flesh, at which point she swayed around a little, before collapsing onto her back. Kirara groaned as she landed hard on her back, the unforgiving ground thumping against the wound she had been left with from Kohaku's attack. In an attempt to alleviate the pain, Kirara turned onto her side, touching a hand to the wound, wincing as she felt the sickening, warm and sticky sensation of her own blood against her fingertips.

 

Kirara looked up in time to see Sesshomaru charge past her, frowning questioningly as he ran to the other side of the courtyard and swung his sword at the building that stood there, cutting down the door and disappearing inside.

 

“Where is he going…?” she muttered.

 

Kirara pushed herself up onto all fours, her attention once more distracted as the swirling purple gases around her faded and began to disperse. Naraku's barrier had been broken.

 

“Inu-Inuyasha!” she said weakly, managing a smile as she saw Inuyasha running towards her.

 

He hurriedly returned his red Tetsusaiga to its sheath, dropping to his knees by her side.

 

“Are you alright?” he asked.

 

“I'm fine,” Kirara lied. “Kohaku… Where's Kohaku?”

 

“He ran away when he saw me coming,” Inuyasha replied. “Where's Sesshomaru? I know he's here somewhere, I could smell him all the way here!”

 

“Oh no you don't!” Koga yelled, swinging a kick at Sesshomaru as he exited the building he had been inside.

 

“It's a trap,” Kirara said, shaking her head. “You mustn't attack Lord Sesshomaru. Stop him, Inuyasha!”

 

“What are you talking about?” Inuyasha asked. “Don't you know that Sesshomaru has joined forces with Naraku?”

 

“What?” Kirara echoed.

 

“Yeah, Koga told me on my way here,” Inuyasha explained. “Sesshomaru only came here to get Kagura. Apparently they've been planning this for a long time. Koga still has a score to settle with Kagura after she killed so many of his tribe, so now he's after Sesshomaru too.”

 

“Inuyasha, no…” Kirara began, trying to push herself up using just one arm, as her other arm had gone numb from the wound in her shoulder.

 

“Stay down and stay out of the way!” Inuyasha warned her. “The others will be here soon, they'll get you out of here. Any idea where Naraku is?”

 

“No,” Kirara replied, shaking her head. “But you have to go after Kohaku.”

 

“Why?”

 

“Naraku has ordered him to kill himself. Please Inuyasha, you must do what you can to save Kohaku. Please!”

 

“Alright already!”

 

Inuyasha got to his feet again, taking hold of the hilt of the Tetsusaiga.

 

“But first I've gotta take care of Naraku, I don't have long,” Inuyasha said, drawing out his sword.

 

Kirara's eyes widened as Inuyasha held out his sword, the blade appearing as nothing more then a rusted, pitted worn old blade.

 

“Damn, the Tetsusaiga won't transform any more!” Inuyasha muttered.

 

“What?” Kirara echoed, turning to look at the sky beyond the castle walls. “This isn't the night of the new moon, is it? Oh please no!”

 

Kirara turned back to Inuyasha, mewing as she saw a human standing in his place.

 

“Damn,” he growled, re-sheathing his Tetsusaiga. “Too late.”

 

“Inuyasha!”

 

Inuyasha and Kirara turned their heads upwards to see Hachi floating towards them, carrying Miroku, Sango and Kagome. As Inuyasha moved over to greet them, fighting off their concerns about his mortal body, Kirara turned her attention back to Sesshomaru, who was fighting off Koga, Ayame, Ginta, Hakkaku and a pack of wolves. She briefly wondered why he was choosing to still just hold the Tokijin in one hand, after having realised that he could double its power holding it in both hands; but then Kirara saw the reason why he was not using his left hand.

 

In Sesshomaru's left hand, he held Kagura's heart.

 

“Look out!” Miroku yelled.

 

Kirara turned her head back to the others, gasping as a giant demon burst out of one of the buildings across the courtyard. A giant body of tendrils, crablike claws and pincers topped with a human torso, Kirara knew instantly even without inhaling the scent or concentrating on the aura that it was Naraku himself, in his truest form.

 

`He looks just like he did in my dream,' she thought to herself. `Could this be the beginning of what Midoriko foretold?'

 

Looking around herself, Kirara saw Kagome aiming an arrow at Naraku, Sango readying her Hiraikotsu, Miroku clutching his staff and Inuyasha preparing to fight with his bare fists in his mortal body, all four poised and ready to attack Naraku. At the other corner of the courtyard, Sesshomaru was still fighting off the wolf demons, and across from him, Kagura was lurking in the shadows with Kohaku.

 

`I can't possibly see how this will end well for any of us,' Kirara thought miserably. `I can only hope that Sango, Miroku, Inuyasha and Kagome somehow manage to escape. It's too late for Kohaku, and Lord Sesshomaru has chosen to join forces with Kagura.'

 

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Next Chapter: The battle against Naraku goes a little awry as Naraku rebuilds his barrier: with Sango, Miroku and Kagome on the other side of it. Trapped alone in a duel to the death with Naraku, Inuyasha chooses to use a jewel shard to break free from his mortal form, but soon finds himself warring against more than just Naraku. Chapter 27 - Inuyasha's Battle.